Helpful Score: 1
WTF?
I could get into the problems with this book from an editorial standpoint--the sentence structure, the style of the prose, the story development and pacing -- but I won't. Instead, I'll just repeat: WTF? I didn't buy what I could pick out of the plot (there wasn't much of a plot). I didn't buy most of the characters, especially as the strongest female character gave up on her dissertation because of an opposing view held by her boyfriend (what sort of boyfriend is that?) and I couldn't figure out why some football players were traveling to France to rescue a man they barely knew.
And no one thing happened. Jayesh is involved in something, but three pages later he changes his mind abruptly. I couldn't figure out what the point of the narrative was, as there was way too much going on without any one thing happening. And aside from the feminist character becoming a dimwit by the story's end, there was no character development present.
I'd say the only thing the story has going for it is the length, as it's short enough to read in a day. The only reason I finished The Kicker of St. John's Wood was because I'm participating in a five-week reading challenge and I couldn't bear the thought of losing a book halfway through.
I could get into the problems with this book from an editorial standpoint--the sentence structure, the style of the prose, the story development and pacing -- but I won't. Instead, I'll just repeat: WTF? I didn't buy what I could pick out of the plot (there wasn't much of a plot). I didn't buy most of the characters, especially as the strongest female character gave up on her dissertation because of an opposing view held by her boyfriend (what sort of boyfriend is that?) and I couldn't figure out why some football players were traveling to France to rescue a man they barely knew.
And no one thing happened. Jayesh is involved in something, but three pages later he changes his mind abruptly. I couldn't figure out what the point of the narrative was, as there was way too much going on without any one thing happening. And aside from the feminist character becoming a dimwit by the story's end, there was no character development present.
I'd say the only thing the story has going for it is the length, as it's short enough to read in a day. The only reason I finished The Kicker of St. John's Wood was because I'm participating in a five-week reading challenge and I couldn't bear the thought of losing a book halfway through.
